Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo has revealed the lineup of mobile devices that it will start offering over the summer. Eleven models make the cut, including nine smartphones, one tablet, and one "Raku-Raku" simplified smartphone. Notable additions include a new Sony Xperia smartphone, the Aquos Phone Zeta, and the Aquos Pad tablet from Sharp.
Japanese cellular carrier Docomo has been showing off a prototype smartphone that sports a transparent display. The device, developed in conjunction with Fujitsu, opens up new possibilities for smartphone interfaces, as the touchscreen is capable of registering inputs from both its front and back surfaces.
Sony is working on power outlets that could restrict flow of energy based on who plugs in, The Verge has learned. Sony would apply its NFC-based FeliCa payment tech and use it to determine identities and permissions, with applications likely to include selling power in public areas, preventing theft, and in large corporate buildings for employees. Each outlet would be equipped with an IC chip that could be made to read information from a similar chip built into the plug or a portable device with an NFC chip.
Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo has used the World Mobile Congress to demo its Touchable 3D Display. The aim of the technology is to give users the sensation that they are “touching’” a 3D object that they are viewing. It uses a glasses-free display and a magnetic field to create a force feedback sensation in the accompanying stylus. This gives users a sensation as though they are touching the object.
Japan’s DOCOMO mobile network has announced that it has begun field testing a development of LTE technology LTE-Advanced. LTE-Advanced is a 4G mobile network technology that is up to six-times faster than standard LTE networks. A recent field test by the South Korean government’s Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) showed the new standard achieving astonishing downlink speeds in real-world tests peaking at 600Mbps.
LG has revealed an upcoming cellphone that can easily double as a point-and-shoot camera, the L-03C. It will be exclusively available on DoCoMo and sports a 12.1-megapixel camera. Its light sensitivity more comparable to that of a dedicated camera and goes as high as ISO 3,200, while a Pentax f3.6-5.5 lens gives it a real 3X optical zoom and shutter speeds ranging from one second to 1/1,500. The L-03C can record HD videos at 720p quality.
Two Asian countries may be engaging in an unusual deal in order to secure the iPhone, according to rumors. Japan's NTT DoCoMo and South Korea's KTF are said by Telecoms Korea to be in talks for a joint release, though the reason for combining the pair's efforts is unknown. The two countries do however rely on W-CDMA broadband, as opposed to the HSPA the 3G iPhone is expected to use in regions such as Canada and the US. It may thus make sense for KTF and DoCoMo to cooperate on a shared iPhone format.
Claiming to mimic the design of its Viera line of Plasma televisions on a handheld device, Panasonic has introduced the P905iTV, a new sliding handset featuring "one-segment" mobile TV on Japan's DoCoMo network. The device offers frame conversion technology from 15 frames to 30 frames per second on 3.5 inch full-wide VGA large screen. The new handheld's screen has a contrast ratio ratio of 4000:1 and uses "LCD Artificial Intelligence" which adjusts the brightness of a display automatically and LSI based on "UniPhier" for mobile phone for power saving. The phone also features 3G international roaming and HSDPA, autofocus 2.0 megapixels camera with six-axis image stabilizer and link functions to audio and visual equipment.
Japan's DoCoMo wireless provider is currently in talks with Apple over the iPhone, with current conversation revolving around technological issues, as well as the division of profit. Bloomberg reports that a partnership with DoCoMo would most likely mean Apple is preparing a W-CDMA version of the iPhone – DoCoMo operates on this standard rather than the current GSM standard the iPhone operates under. Apple is concerned that adopting W-CDMA could potentially cannibalize the company's existing markets.
